Their attitude toward the people who have faithfully purchased their products for decades is infuriating. But those loyal customers will now be spending their money on tobacco from companies that better deserve the business.
I also agree. For me, it is very sad and disappointing as well as infuriating. Dunhill started with pipes and tobacco and somehow re-branded into a fashion statement.
Like most big companies who struggled to build a name and reputation, the successors of the original owners take for granted what they have and either mismanage or in this case, re-brand themselves to exclude the very thing they were built upon.
I have been curious about the history of Dunhiil. Actually, they did not start with pipes and so on. They started as a saddlery, moved into accessories and clothing for motoring, and then into pipes and tobacco. They had 1,300 items in the "Dunhill Motorities" catalog before Alfred Dunhill opened his first tobacco shop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Dunhill_Ltd.
"I also agree. For me, it is very sad and disappointing as well as
infuriating. Dunhill started with pipes and tobacco and somehow
re-branded into a fashion statement.
Like most big companies
who struggled to build a name and reputation, the successors of the
original owners take for granted what they have and either mismanage or
in this case, re-brand themselves to exclude the very thing they were
built upon."
If you ever want the real story on Dunhill read Michael Balfour's Alfred Dunhill 100 Years and More and Mary Dunhill's Our Family Business. Dunhill diversified into a lifestyle company in the 1920's and they've still around today. Spinning off the tobacco probably helped AD Ltd survive without the cost of dealing with the master settlement. Mr Richard Dunhill was at the helm till about 10 years ago.
@daveinlax I think you are correct about the reason why AD Ltd. In my opinion, the cost of dealing with the master settlement compared to the percentage of the profit tobacco provided made it a smart business decision. I also think the "stigma" of being associated with tobacco products may not be the image the current company wanted to keep. If that makes sense to you.
When the Hostess Company stopped making Twinkies a while back before realizing the folly of their ways there were several other companies that made their variation of the Twinkie - just called it something else. And by God, they tasted pretty much the same as the 21st Century Twinkie. (I say 21st Century Twinkie because sometime after the FDA jumped on the bandwagon and cut or eliminated saturated and trans fat from many of our favorite snack cakes - they never tasted the same as they did when I was younger). So I imagine there will be a variety of blenders that will mimic many of the Dunhill blends with passable MATCH blends. And maybe Dunhill will pull a Hostess and bring their pipe tobacco line after a year or two hiatus.
I generally agree with you, @PappyJoe. It's not an apocalypse (which technically means "a revealing" anyway). I'll miss the Dunhill blends I like, but I've already found some good alternatives. Cornell & Diehl's Byzantium, for instance, which is a good replacement for EMP.
@mseddon Of course you are correct. But I was thinking more along the lines of the common usage which has twisted the usage to refer to so-called end-time or end of the world scenarios.
I may be humbled but don't delude yourself into thinking I'm beat. (That's a joke, by the way.)
I've never had any Dunhill tobaccos until as of late. In lieu of it all the news, I did purchase tins of EMP, Aperitif, Nightcap, and Elizabethan. I have 965 jarred which I purchased bulk for the YouTube Muttonchop Piper 2018 Blend Club. But this is very much like the cigar world where Cuban cigars were so coveted but because of the lack of availability the Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars have met and exceeded the Cubans, which makes it great that there is more for us to enjoy without having to put one specific element on a pedestal. Same goes for the wine world and dare I even say in the whisk(e)y world.
Dunhill is one of the brands that I initially wanted to carry here at The Pipe Nook. A number of their blends have been personal favorites of mine, and it is with a touch of sadness that I announce that at The Pipe Nook, we are coming to the end of our stock of Dunhill tobaccos.
British American Tobacco announced near the end of 2016 that Dunhill tobacco production would soon be coming to a close. I was gearing up to begin carrying tobacco in 2017, and this news deflated me quite a bit. Nevertheless, I wanted to carry Dunhill as long as I could, and I'm glad to have been able to be a small part in the end of the Dunhill era of pipe tobacco. BAT has very recently gone on record as stating that Dunhill tobacco production has already ceased, and this is reflected in many of their blends already being sold out at many online retailers, including The Pipe Nook. I've already removed the blends that I'm sold out of, but I still have a small supply of about half of their blends in stock. All of the Dunhill blends are excellent candidates for cellaring and maturing for many years, so I would advise that you stock up on what you can before it's all gone.
While the decision for British American Tobacco to leave the pipe tobacco business seems completely numbers driven, and a cut at the heart of the pipe smoking community that the Dunhill name was built upon, I can still appreciate the blends and hope to enjoy the blends I have cellared for many years to come. And although the loss of these favored blends is significant to me, I hope you'll all take heart in the fact that they aren't the only game in town. There are so many excellent blends left out there from companies such as Cornell & Diehl, Mac Baren, Savinelli, and Peterson, that I have no doubt I'll still have plenty of fantastic flavors to stuff in my pipes. Visit The Pipe Nook for many of these blends, and all the best to you and yours!
Comments
Their attitude toward the people who have faithfully purchased their products for decades is infuriating. But those loyal customers will now be spending their money on tobacco from companies that better deserve the business.
Like most big companies who struggled to build a name and reputation, the successors of the original owners take for granted what they have and either mismanage or in this case, re-brand themselves to exclude the very thing they were built upon.
I thought I had written a post on my blog about naming tobacco blends but I can't find it. I guess it will be coming soon.
Like most big companies who struggled to build a name and reputation, the successors of the original owners take for granted what they have and either mismanage or in this case, re-brand themselves to exclude the very thing they were built upon."
If you ever want the real story on Dunhill read Michael Balfour's Alfred Dunhill 100 Years and More and Mary Dunhill's Our Family Business. Dunhill diversified into a lifestyle company in the 1920's and they've still around today. Spinning off the tobacco probably helped AD Ltd survive without the cost of dealing with the master settlement. Mr Richard Dunhill was at the helm till about 10 years ago.
I think you are correct about the reason why AD Ltd. In my opinion, the cost of dealing with the master settlement compared to the percentage of the profit tobacco provided made it a smart business decision. I also think the "stigma" of being associated with tobacco products may not be the image the current company wanted to keep. If that makes sense to you.
I may be humbled but don't delude yourself into thinking I'm beat. (That's a joke, by the way.)
Recent email from The Pipe Nook
The Pipe Nook News: The end of Dunhill Tobaccos
Dunhill is one of the brands that I initially wanted to carry here at The Pipe Nook. A number of their blends have been personal favorites of mine, and it is with a touch of sadness that I announce that at The Pipe Nook, we are coming to the end of our stock of Dunhill tobaccos.
British American Tobacco announced near the end of 2016 that Dunhill tobacco production would soon be coming to a close. I was gearing up to begin carrying tobacco in 2017, and this news deflated me quite a bit. Nevertheless, I wanted to carry Dunhill as long as I could, and I'm glad to have been able to be a small part in the end of the Dunhill era of pipe tobacco. BAT has very recently gone on record as stating that Dunhill tobacco production has already ceased, and this is reflected in many of their blends already being sold out at many online retailers, including The Pipe Nook. I've already removed the blends that I'm sold out of, but I still have a small supply of about half of their blends in stock. All of the Dunhill blends are excellent candidates for cellaring and maturing for many years, so I would advise that you stock up on what you can before it's all gone.
While the decision for British American Tobacco to leave the pipe tobacco business seems completely numbers driven, and a cut at the heart of the pipe smoking community that the Dunhill name was built upon, I can still appreciate the blends and hope to enjoy the blends I have cellared for many years to come. And although the loss of these favored blends is significant to me, I hope you'll all take heart in the fact that they aren't the only game in town. There are so many excellent blends left out there from companies such as Cornell & Diehl, Mac Baren, Savinelli, and Peterson, that I have no doubt I'll still have plenty of fantastic flavors to stuff in my pipes. Visit The Pipe Nook for many of these blends, and all the best to you and yours!
Keep 'em Lit,
Eddie Gray
https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/history-dunhill-tobacco